How to Draw Lines and Shapes in Adobe Acrobat DC
Question details
Users are trying to figure out how to draw lines, rectangles, circles, and other shapes in Adobe Acrobat DC after changes to the location of the drawing toolbar.
- Product
- Adobe Acrobat DC
- Device & OS
- not provided
- Scenario
- Adding basic graphical shapes or lines to annotate a PDF document.
- Observed behavior
- The traditional drawing toolbar is missing, and users find that shapes drawn through the new Comment tools function as annotations, making them difficult to rotate or manipulate like standard graphical objects. The Object toolbar also remains grayed out in Edit PDF mode.
Ensure that your PDF document is not protected by security settings that restrict commenting or editing, as this will disable the drawing tools.
Use the Comment Tools to Draw Lines and Shapes
Since the older drawing toolbar was removed in Adobe Acrobat DC, drawing tools like lines, rectangles, and circles are now housed within the Comment tools pane.
In modern versions of Acrobat DC, drawing functions are treated as annotations rather than fully editable vector objects. This means that while you can easily draw a red line or a box, manipulating them (like freely rotating the shape) works differently than in a dedicated graphics program.
Launch Adobe Acrobat DC, open your PDF document, and click on the 'Tools' tab located at the top left of the application window.
Locate the 'Comment' icon under the 'Share & Review' section and click 'Open'. This will display the Comment toolbar at the top of your document window.
In the Comment toolbar, look for the 'Drawing Tools' icon (often resembling a shape like a rectangle or an overlapping circle and square). Click it to reveal a dropdown menu containing the Line, Arrow, Rectangle, Oval, Text Callout, and Polygon tools.
Select your desired tool, then click and drag on the PDF page to draw the shape. You can change the color and line thickness by right-clicking the drawn shape and selecting 'Properties'.
Add Lines and Shapes Seamlessly with WPS Office
If you find Acrobat's comment-based drawing tools confusing or cumbersome, WPS Office offers a highly intuitive PDF editor. Adding lines, shapes, and annotations is straightforward, providing a user-friendly workflow for managing your PDF documents.
- 1. Open your PDF: Launch WPS Office and open the PDF document you want to edit.
- 2. Go to the Comment tab: Navigate to the 'Comment' tab located in the top ribbon.
- 3. Select the Shapes tool: Click on the 'Shapes' button to expand the menu of available drawing tools, including lines, arrows, rectangles, and ovals.
- 4. Draw your shape: Click and drag anywhere on the document to place your shape.
- 5. Format the shape: Use the contextual properties panel that appears to instantly change the border color, fill color, and line width.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is the Object toolbar gray and inactive in Edit PDF mode?
In Adobe Acrobat DC, the 'Edit PDF' tools are designed to modify existing text and graphical objects natively embedded in the original document. Because newly drawn shapes from the Comment menu are classified as annotations (an overlay) rather than base objects, the native Object toolbar cannot edit them.
Can I rotate a shape or comment box in Acrobat DC?
Standard shapes drawn via the Comment tools in Acrobat DC have limited manipulation options because they are annotations. While you can resize them, you generally cannot rotate them freely like you would in a graphics application. For objects that require rotation, you would need to create them in another program and insert them as an image.
Why does a box say 'No Comments Yet' when I click the Comments pane?
The right-hand Comments pane displays a list of all annotations made on the document. If you haven't drawn any shapes, highlighted text, or added notes yet, the list remains empty. The tools to actually draw shapes are located in the horizontal toolbar at the top of the window, not in the list pane.
